How to Make Mini Caramel Apples + #SweetSwaps Twitter Party with Prizes

Disclosure: This post is part of the SPLENDA® Brand Sweet Life Blogger Program by McNeil Nutritionals, LLC and The Motherhood, who sent me products and compensated me for my time. Opinions, experiences and photos shared here are my own, and I hope you enjoy them.

I love sweets. However, as I have gotten older, it's time to dial it down a notch because I've become a wee bit more aware of the actual ingredients and sugar intake. Now that the kids have gotten older, I have more time to bake and "cook" delicious treats. One thing the kids and I enjoy when we go to amusement parks are the huge decadent caramel apples. I wanted to create these on a smaller scale with reduced sugar so that they are snack and/or party perfect.

Ingredients:

Small Granny Smith Apples

1/3 cup butter

3 tablespoons soy milk

2 tablespoons light corn syrup

3/4 cup SPLENDA® Brown Sugar Blend

Crushed Graham Crackers

Directions:

1. Thoroughly wash the apples and pat dry. Put a candy stick into each ball. Set aside.

3. Dip each apple ball into the caramel until fully covered. Gently roll the bottom 1/3-2/3 of the apple ball in the crushed graham crackers. Place on parchment paper to completely set. Enjoy!

For the new season, I have started to clean out the kitchen pantry and cabinets. It was really surprising to find expired foods from over a year ago! We are really wasteful when it comes to food so I would like to try to keep the shelves organized to be more aware and buy only things that we will consume timely.

How often do you clean/organize your pantry?

Along with this cleanse of sorts, I want to swap out recipes with SPLENDA® Sweetener Products to reduce the full sugar and calories. It's a smart decision for my family since I have been on a baking kick!

Did you know that by swapping one cup of sugar with one cup of SPLENDA® No Calorie Sweetener, Granulated, you can save more than 600 calories? Chat about seasonal sweetswaps.com recipes and get tips to help you make smart, balanced decisions as part of your lifestyle at the twitter party on March 31!

SPLENDA® Brand Sweet Life Spring #SweetSwaps Twitter Party

What: Celebrate spring by renewing and refreshing all aspects of life – including your recipe repertoire. We’ll be sharing seasonal recipes from The SPLENDA® SWEET SWAPS™ page along with some tips to help you make smart, balanced decisions as part of your lifestyle. SPLENDA® No Calorie Sweetener enables people to experience the joy of sugar without all of the calories.

When: Tuesday, March 31 at 1 p.m. ET

Where: Follow the #SweetSwaps hashtag on Twitter to track the conversation.

Prizes: We will be giving away five prizes to randomly selected participants who answer the trivia questions correctly. Each prize includes a $50 Visa gift card, an assortment of SPLENDA® Sweetener Products and a SPLENDA® branded apron and bag. Prizes limited to U.S. participants only.

I watch my sugar too but I still bake for others and encouraged them to decrease their sugar intake. I used to instruct diabetics on their diet so I can appreciate any of these low/reduced sugar recipes.